Hammer Time
by 6thfloormadness
Summary: Taylor gets a more Brutish power while in the locker. It's not as straightforward a power as she would wish so testing is required.
1. Chapter 1

**Hammer Time**

 _Powers,_ I decided, _are weird._

Not all powers were weird, some made sense. Armsmaster was a tinker that could build stuff. That was nice and straightforward. But on the whole, most powers made no sense. Miss Militia could use her power to make guns. What if someone had gotten her power 200 years ago? Would they be able to make anything beyond ye olde muskets? If the answer is yes, how come I've never heard of Miss Militia using her power to make phaser guns from the future? If the answer is no, how the heck does a power know what guns are even available in the world?

My power in particular makes no sense. I have super strength, sort of. And I'm incredibly tough, sort of. The best I can figure is that my power operates on cartoon logic. When I first got my power I busted out of my locker using only a pen that I happened to have in my hand, yet I somehow wasn't strong enough to lift the couch at home. I had gone out late at night to walk to the Boat Graveyard so I could conduct some tests and on the way there I had gotten run over by an SUV driven by a drunk driver. I had gotten up with barely had any scratches on me. Deciding that becoming a speed bump had been test enough for a night, I had turned around and headed home and when I was climbing into bed I had banged my toe on the corner post, **that** had hurt.

If I wanted to be a hero (and I did) I needed to figure out my powers' strengths and limitations before I went out to try and stop crime. So I had gone back to the Boat Graveyard to make another attempt at testing things out. I had brought a baseball bat and found out that I could do serious damage with it. One of the baseballs I had smacked in the metal hull of a boat had basically disintegrated on impact. But I was also capable of hitting the balls so that they were pulverized as soon as the bat touched them. Near as I could figure, when I hit something hard it was either going to take the damage from me or from whatever it hit when I sent it flying.

 _At least I learned something about my powers today that I didn't know yesterday,_ I thought to myself as I began the walk home.

One of the more straightforward aspects of my power was the increased endurance. I could run for ages without getting tired and my body had recovered in the hospital a lot quicker than any of the doctors had been expecting.

Walking through the docks was always dangerous. It was primarily ABB territory but the Merchants would show up whenever asian presence was light. So it was quite a surprise when I stumbled across a cape fight between the Protectorate and the Empire 88.

Well, it wasn't a cape fight at the time I turned the corner of an abandoned construction site to see Assault and Battery squaring off against Krieg and Rune. Rune was floating about ten feet up on a chunk of concrete while Krieg stood beneath her with Assault and Battery on the opposite side of the villains from myself. There was construction materials, I-beams, bricks, et cetera, scattered all around. It looked like they had been fighting and were now taking a breather to talk to each other.

 _Why didn't I spend more time on PHO looking up what powers the local villains had?_ I chastised myself. I knew that Rune was a telekinetic and that Krieg was a different kind of telekinetic, but what the difference was I had no idea.

 _Should I try and help? Sneak away? Stay quiet and only get involved if it goes badly?_

"I know as 'heroes' you're morally obligated to stick your nose into everyone's business but don't you think fighting us this far into ABB territory is just asking for trouble?" Krieg said, the disdain clear in his voice. "How long before Oni Lee or Lung decide to investigate?"

"There wouldn't be anything to investigate if you two would just surrender," Assault said with a chuckle.

"And I find myself curious just what you two are doing in ABB territory," Battery added.

"Unfortunately, I cannot provide the lovely lady with an answer that will satisfied her," Krieg responded.

 _For a guy with a German military style costume, I would have thought he'd have an accent._

"Then it seems like we're done talking," Battery said and then darted forward, moving far faster than I had expected her to.

But then that's her power isn't it? She can charge up to be strong or be fast or be tough. Her name isn't just a pun to go with Assault.

One of the telekinetics was ready for her though. A swarm of bricks interposed themselves between the heroes and the villains, blocking Battery's charge.

The bricks did nothing to stop Assault though, who simply plowed straight through them. _What's his power anyway? I think he absorbs energy or something?_

As Assault barreled forward and engaged Krieg in a fistfight, Rune floated backwards, closer to where I was hiding, and began pelting Battery with pieces of masonry.

Guess she was the one controlling the bricks then.

Krieg seemed to be getting the upper hand in the fight against Assault but Battery couldn't help him without turning her back on Rune, who was staying high enough that Battery couldn't fight her either.

 _Okay, unless the heroes pull a trick out of their hats, I'm going to have to help out. What are my options?_

My only weapon was the baseball bat. All my baseballs were destroyed during testing. I could trying hitting something at Rune but my aim wasn't very good and I did **not** want to accidentally hit one of the heroes. So that left...close quarters combat.

 _I really wish I had a costume before I got into my first cape fight._ I was wearing a hoodie, a pair of old jeans, and some ratty sneakers. I had a bandana tied around my lower face to protect my identity. Heroic looking, I was not.

I began slowly inching my way around the side of the battlefield. Idealy, I would run in and catch Krieg by surprise before they noticed me. My power might be strong enough that I could deflect something they sent my way but I still needed to be able to wind up and hit it with the bat. If they threw too many things at me I could be in trouble. Or maybe I was tough enough that it wouldn't hurt. That was the thing about having a power that only protected me some of the time, I didn't exactly want to test it out in a life-or-death situation.

Krieg had had Assault in a sleeper hold but the hero managed to get enough leverage to fling the Nazi off of him and in my general direction.

 _Won't get a better chance than this._

As Krieg was pulling himself to his feet I ran forward and brought my bat down on him. He had heard me coming and brought his arm up to block the swing, which I was fine with, I didn't want to kill him, just put him out of the fight. I certainly wasn't swinging as hard as I could be.

I was very surprised with what happened after my bat connected with Krieg's arm though. I knew I was strong so I had expected to hurt him, maybe break a few bones. I was not prepared for his entire body to slam into the ground as if some giant invisible hand had decided to slap him like an annoying bug.

Krieg let out a garbled gasp of pain as he bounced slightly from the impact and then immediately started coughing up blood.

"Kreig!"

I whipped my head in the direction of the voice. It was Rune who had spoken and if the anger I could hear in her tone hadn't tipped me off, the fact that several large I-beam were now heading my way proved that she wasn't happy at my treatment of her…

 _Boss? Coworker? What do you call someone who has more seniority than you in a gang? Wait, not the time for idle thoughts, Taylor. Focus on the metal flying at your face!_

I brought my bat back and waited till the nearest I-beam came within hitting distance and hit it as hard as I could. Turns out my power trumped Rune's as the I-beam shot off and smashed through one of the nearby half-built walls.

 _Huh, I hit it on the end but the beam didn't spin when it when through the air. My power must be doing something to momentum._

Rune clearly hadn't expected me to knock the I-beam that far away (to be honest, neither had I) so there was momentary pause in the battle as she looked at the wall before turning back to me. She gestured with her arm and the I-beams resumed their trajectory straight at me.

I did a backhand swing up that send one I-beam flying skyward and that allowed me to easily reverse the swing and bring the bat down on another beam, which embedded itself in the ground. Unfortunately, I was unable to bring the bat up in time to avoid getting struck square in the face.

There was no doubt in my mind that that would have killed me if it wasn't for my power because that blow carried me back a good fifteen feet and I skidded along the ground for another few. My nose stung a little but other than that everything appeared to be in working condition.

I sat up and realized that I was no longer holding my bat. Glancing around frantically, I saw it lying on the ground in basically the spot I had been hit.

 _Good to know Rune can't hurt me, but she can keep me out of the fight if she keeps knocking me away like that,_ I thought as I ran towards my bat.

I grabbed my weapon and brought it up in a defensive position, ready to deflect Rune's next attack, only to realize the fight was over. In her focus on me, Rune had completely forgot about the Protectorate heroes. I didn't know what they had done but I could see that Rune was currently unconscious and, except for her head, completely covered in containment foam.

Battery was crouched over Krieg. It looked like she was trying to administer first-aid to him while talking to somebody. Since she wasn't talking to Assault I assumed she had a radio headset in her costume.

 _Speaking of Assault..._ the large hero had moved to stand between Battery and myself. He was grinning though, so that was good.

"Hey, Sports Fan. Rune hit you pretty good there, you alright?"

"Yea, I'm fine. My power keeps big things from hurting me….um, is Krieg going to be okay? I didn't think I hit him that hard…"

"Puppy's well trained so she'll keep him alive until the ambulance gets here."

I nodded. I really didn't want to have accidentally killed someone, even if they were a Nazi.

"So Slugger, that looks more like street clothes than a costume and I don't recognize your powerset. How long have you been at this?"

"This is only my second week," I admitted. "I'm still trying to figure things out."

Assault looked behind him at Krieg and then over at Rune. "Not bad work for your second week of patrol-"

I interrupted him. "No, this isn't my second week of patrol. This is my second week of having powers. I've been going to the Boat Graveyard at night to test things. I didn't want to go on patrol until I had a better idea of what I could do but I then I stumbled up your fight on the way home…" I trailed off.

"And you didn't want to leave two heroes to fight the villains when you knew there was a chance you could help," Assault finished for me with a smile. "Sounds like you'll make a fine hero. Got a name or should I keep coming up with nicknames for you, Louisville?"

I rubbed the back of my neck self-consciously. "I don't have a name….or a costume. I don't even know if I know all my powers yet."

"Don't know all your powers?" Assault repeated with a raised eyebrow. "That's not something I hear often. Especially for Brutes."

"Well I guess I'm just unlucky like that," I grumbled. I could feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment. "Not that I'm surprised."

"Oh hey, don't take it personally. I didn't mean anything by it," Assault quickly said. "All that means is you've got an unusual power, that's a good thing. If it takes you this long to figure out your powers imagine how annoying it will be for any villains that try to fight you."

"I guess that makes sense…."

Assault raised a finger to his lips. "Shhh, don't let Puppy here you say that." He grinned conspiratorially. "If she finds out I'm capable of logical reasoning her whole worldview could implode. Our entire dynamic is built on her being the mature one."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his irreverent attitude, which was probably part of why he was acting that way. It was taking a lot of the tension out of the situation.

It was around that time that I caught the sound of sirens. Assault must have heard it too because he cocked his head to the side.

"Well that's our backup," he said, turning back to look at me. "Feel like riding down to the PRT base with Puppy and myself? You don't have to but I know the boss lady will want to hear your perspective of the fight."

"Boss _lady_? I thought Armsmaster was in charge?"

"Armsmaster is the head of the Protectorate," Assault clarified. "Director Piggot is the boss of the PRT."

The next ten minutes were a flurry of activity. A truck that reminded me of a SWAT vehicle showed up and PRT troopers poured out of it. They 'secured the area' and loaded Rune's containment foam covered form into the truck. Krieg was a bit more complicated. An ambulance did arrive but it wasn't like a couple of EMT's would be enough to subdue the supervillain if he woke up and decided he wanted out. Apparently, the PRT normally had an ambulance specifically designed for transporting injured villains but it was currently out of commision at a repair shop. Eventually, it was decided Assault would ride along to keep an eye on Krieg while Battery and I would join the PRT troopers in the truck.

The ride to the PRT building was uncomfortably awkward. The seats were designed to fit a full grown adult kitted out in PRT gear, my skinny butt ended up getting banged around a lot. The troopers themselves weren't rude but they also didn't have much to say to me beyond one-word answers to my questions. Battery was (somehow) sleeping. I didn't blame her for that, I didn't know how long she had been fighting before I showed up but she was probably exhausted.

Eventually, we arrived at the PRT building. When I got out of the truck I saw that we were in an underground parking garage. I tried to stay out of the way as Rune was unloaded and taken to a prison cell. Once that was taken care of, Battery lead me through a veritable maze of hallways until we came to, of all things, a break room.

 _It's so normal looking. They even have a coffee machine,_ I observed as Battery poured herself a cup of said coffee.

"This has already been a long night and it ain't gonna end anytime soon. Coffee?"

I shook my head. "I'm more of a tea drinker."

"Don't think there's any communal tea here, sorry." Battery took a sip from her cup and then grimaced. "Ugh, Armsmaster built a tinkertech machine on the Rig, makes a phenomenal cup of joe. Problem is, now I'm spoiled and all other coffee tastes like sludge."

"That's….a surprisingly mundane use of one's powers."

Battery smiled knowingly. "I know that when most people think of Protectorate heroes they picture us fighting other parahumans but that is actually a small percentage of how we spend our time, like how cops aren't usually engaged in high speed pursuits on the highway. Only makes sense we'd start figuring out ways to make our lives easier with our powers."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it. I overheard part of your conversation with Assault. You're still learning about your own powers, nevermind everyone else's." Battery paused, as if considering something important. "So I don't want to pressure you, but have you considered the Wards program? One of its primary objectives is teaching young parahumans how to use their powers in a safe, controlled environment. I was in it myself up in New York."

"I….I have enough trouble at school. I don't want to have to deal with more people that don't like me that _also_ have powers," I said meekly as I stared at the floor.

I was sure Battery was frowning at me so I didn't lift my gaze from my shoes. However, before she could respond a familiar voice called out from the hallway.

"Puppy! Batgirl! There you two are. Boss lady was walking into the building as I got dropped off so we should probably start heading over to her office now."

The walk from the break room was rather benign. Assault chatted aimlessly to which I only half paid attention to. Battery kept glancing at me when she thought I wasn't looking, something she hadn't done on the walk to the break room. Maybe she didn't like that I had turned down the idea of joining the Wards.

 _I hope she doesn't bad mouth me to the Director because of that,_ I worried.


	2. Chapter 2

"Don't forget to grab your bat from the secretary on your way out," Assault told Brockton Bay's newest parahuman. "Don't want to get all the way to the parking garage and then realize you left it up here."

The girl nodded. "I will thanks," she said as she left the office.

Once the door closed, and after a few moments in case she walked back in with a question, Assault and Samantha turned back to look at the Director.

"Alright," Piggot said. "Thoughts?"

Assault spoke first, "She's surprisingly well adjusted for someone that had their trigger event so recently."

"I thought so too until I brought up the Wards," Samantha said. "Her entire demeanor changed, her body language became withdrawn and she seemed embarrassed to be talking about it."

"Meaning…" Piggot made a continue-speaking motion with her hands.

"She was perfectly fine interacting with Assault and myself and made attempts to talk to the troopers on the ride over here. She's not afraid or distrustful of authority. It was mention of the Wards specifically that made her shut down. She didn't want to join a group of people her own age."

"Sounds like that's related to her trigger event to me," Assault said.

Piggot tapped her chin. "Robbed by gang members she thought were friends? Socially isolated at school? Dumped by boyfriend in front of people?"

"I have no idea what the specifics could be, she didn't really start talking again until she was giving you her account of what happened with Krieg and Rune," Samantha admitted. "But she did tell us she got her powers two weeks ago. Dauntless still has friends in the BBPD so he could ask for copies of reports of incidents involving teenagers in that time frame."

"I don't think she will appreciate it if you show up on her doorstep unannounced," the Director said, frowning. "Especially since she mentioned that her dad didn't know, that was why she asked for the ride to her neighborhood as I recall. Wanted to get home before he woke up."

"Which I'm pleasantly surprised you agreed to," Assault interjected.

"I'm not saying we do that," Samantha explained while ignoring her husband. "I'm saying if we find out what occurred, we might be able to help in some way. Maybe arrange a Wards tour and get someone like Gallant to 'accidentally' run into her, he hears her story and agrees to look into it. If a Ward is seen fixing her problem she might have a more favorable outlook on the possibility of joining."

Assault reached over and grabbed Samantha's hands in his own. "Puppy…Sam…you've always had a pretty good handle on your trigger event. I've noticed that you sometimes forget a lot of parahumans aren't like that. If the girl triggered because, let's say one of her friends manipulated her in an embarrassing way then manipulating her into joining the Wards has the potential to blow up in our faces in a very bad way if she figures out what we're doing. I'm not saying we shouldn't help her, but this underhanded stuff might not be the best way to go about it."

"You have a better suggestion?" Piggot asked gruffly.

Assault released his wife's hands. "Actually, it's a good plan, just be upfront about it. Get Dauntless to see if any of his police buddies can pass us anything. Then we investigate whatever looks suspicious. If we come across her out of costume be honest and tell her we're investigating what happened to her and that we're not there to force the Wards issue, the PRT and Protectorate are supposed to investigate crimes related to parahumans after all."

Piggot looked skeptical. "And what happens if she decides she doesn't like us interfering in her life?"

"I've talked with her, Puppy's talked with her, **you've** talked with her. I think we can all agree she's got a good head on her shoulders. If we're upfront with her I'm sure she'll be the same so if she doesn't like us interfering, **she'll tell us**. Sure, not the best result but it's vastly preferable to having her pissed as us because we tried to trick her into joining."

"Very well Assault," Piggot said with unpleasant smile. "Since you feel so strongly about this you're in charge of handling the girl's case. Which reminds me, since she's not here I can get an actual answer instead of one that's been sugar coated. What's Krieg's condition?"

"Not good at all," Samantha admitted. "Quite frankly, I'm shocked he survived long enough for the ambulance to show up."

"Yea, the EMT's used a handheld x-rayer on the ride to the hospital. They told me that it would be quicker to list his non-broken bones than the broken ones. Given how badly he looked, I don't think they were exaggerating for effect."

"And I believe she said she specifically didn't hit Krieg as hard as she could because she was worried about hurting him." Piggot rubbed her temples. "Christ, this was her holding back."

Assault's body language shifted at Piggot's words. "Hey, whoa! She's trying to be responsible. She hasn't gone heroing because she's still figuring out her powers. The only reason she got involved was to help Puppy and I!"

"Calm down, I'm not about to start filing criminal charges against her. While strong arming teenagers into the Wards is sometimes necessary, it creates resentment and is best only used as a last resort."

Assault visibly relaxed. "Oh, well okay then."

Piggot sighed heavily and seemed to stare blankly into space for a moment before speaking. "What was that name she suggested for herself?"

"Caledfwlch," Samantha answered.

"Gesundheit," Assault replied.

Samantha rolled her eyes. "It's another name for King Arthur's sword, Excalibur."

"Oh, the sword in the stone!"

"No, that's a different sword," Samantha corrected. "Arthur was given Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake."

Assault grinned. "Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."

"First off, I can't believe you actually saw that low budget pre-Scion movie. Secondly, just because I mentioned the Lady of the Lake doesn't automatically mean you can pull that quote out. We weren't discussing government or the rule of law-"

Samantha was interrupted by the Director clearing her throat.

"Sorry, got a little distracted there. My point is, I'm pretty sure she picked Caledfwlch because of the connotation with the scabbard more than the sword."

"Enlighten those of us not up to date on Arthurian legend factoids," Piggot said flatly.

"The scabbard that was used to hold Excalibur was said to prevent any wounds from bleeding that were received in battle. Since she's a pretty powerful brute the connotation is rather apparent."

"She's also a literary buff if she remembered that little tidbit," Assualt said, half to himself and half to the women in the room. "Might help narrow things down."

"Well unless there's anything else you two need to inform me of?" Piggot asked. Samantha and Assault shook their heads "Then you two are dismissed, Assault I expect regular updates on your progress with…Kalidvoo."

"Caledfwlch," Samantha corrected. "It's Welsh."

"Whatever," Piggot said with a dismissive wave of her hand as the two heroes exited the Director's office.

* * *

"Here's the light reading you requested big guy," Dauntless said as he dropped a stack of folders on the desk in front of Ethan.

"I only you asked you for these on Friday, how'd you get them so quickly?"

Dauntless shrugged. "Must have been a slow weekend."

Ethan looked at the pile and then glanced at a nearby clock. "Hell, it's not even dinner time yet. I can read all these before my shift's over. If one of them is what I'm looking for I might even have a plan together before school starts tomorrow."

"School? You going to read to little kids in the morning?"

Ethan chuckled as he flipped open the top folder and scanned its contents. "No, it's the new parahuman that one shotted Krieg Thursday night. She told me that she got her powers two weeks ago, I'm trying to track her down."

"Er….are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm not going to out her. I just want to see if I can do something about whatever it was that caused her to trigger. Figure that would make us look good in her eyes, might be more open to joining the Wards."

Since he wasn't wearing his helmet, Dauntless's grin was visible. "Why Ethan, that is a surprisingly thoughtful and genuinely nice thing for you to do. Did your wife throw you in the doghouse and this is your attempt at getting out?"

Ethan raised his chin defiantly. "I'll have you know Sam and I are doing just fine. She's only hit me twice last week."

Ethan managed to keep a straight face for five seconds before he started grinning. "Actually, this particular project was assigned to me by the Director since I was the one that vetoed the other proposed plan."

"Which was?"

"Find out whatshername's civilian identity and arrange for one of the Wards to run into her who would offer to fix her problem."

"She might have an easier time connecting with someone her own age as opposed to old farts like us."

"Not from what Puppy said. Calidoogle clammed up quicker than you can say Jack Robinson when the possibility of joining the Wards was mentioned."

Dauntless smirked. "If you do plan on going to talk to her, you should probably learn how to say her name properly."

Ethan scoffed. "Alright wise guy, let's hear you say it."

"Caledfwlch."

Ethan stared dumbfounded at his teammate.

"Some of us actually pay attention to your wife when she's talking instead of staring at her butt."

Ethan threw his empty coffee mug at Dauntless's head.

* * *

Samantha's shift had ended. She had already changed out of her costume and was heading to say goodbye to her husband and check to see if he wanted her to leave dinner out for him at the house. Poking her head into his office, she saw Assault sitting at his desk, head in his hands, staring at an open folder of papers.

Walking in and closing the door behind her, Samantha asked, "Ethan honey, what's wrong?"

"I was just given a reminder of how horrible people can be to one another." He gestured at the paperwork on his desk. "Not supervillains, not S class threats, not even gang members necessarily, just regular people."

"What do you mean?"

Ethan sighed and removed his mask and set it on the desk. "I'm pretty sure I figured out who Caldizoo is. And if I'm right I don't blame her for her not wanting to be around kids her own age. Kids are dicks."

Not bothering to correct his mispronunciation, Samantha walked over and leaned against her husband and started stroking his hair. "That bad?"

"It's bad enough that if this girl isn't who I'm looking for, I still want to go help her. Girl goes to Winslow High. First day back from winter break she was stuffed into a locker full of used….feminine products. She was in there for three hours."

"Three hours!?" Samantha was horrified at the mere thought of it. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to actually be in that situation.

"Yea, no one bothering to come let her out. Not a single student went and got a teacher. She had to bust out herself. It was bad enough they actually had to call in a hazmat team to clean up afterwards."

"That's….well that's a trigger event if I ever heard one. And locker's aren't exactly easy for a normal person to break"

"Yea, and it fits into the time frame," Ethan admitted. "Plus, the girl, Taylor Herbert, matches Kakiwoo's height and body type."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea. According to the police report there were no witnesses, despite this happening in a crowded hallway."

"In other words, no one wants to come forward."

"Right, and I don't have the obvious justification for investigating a parahuman like I was kinda hoping for."

Samantha was quiet for a moment as she continued to hold her husband. "Actually, if all you want is an excuse for parahuman involvement, there's a pretty obvious one."

Samantha felt Ethan turn his head to look at her so she continued. "No one is willing to say who did it despite it occurring in a busy hallway. Sounds like a Master/Stranger situation to me."

Ethan's whole body went rigid for a split second and then he abruptly stood up and planted a quick kiss on Samantha's lips. "Puppy, you're a genius! I've got a lot of paperwork to file to make that excuse seem official so don't wait up for me."

Ethan grabbed his mask off the desk as he hurried out the door leaving Samantha in his office. Ordinarily, she'd be a bit miffed about how quickly he ran off but given the nature of the case Samantha found it understandable.

A thought occurred to her. _Doesn't Shadow Stalker go to Winslow? She might know something about this._ Grabbing a sticky pad off the desk, Samantha wrote a quick note to her husband, telling him to talk to the Ward before he went to the school.

 _She's not the most sociable cape but helping out with this would make her look good in front of the Director with minimum effort on her part so I doubt she'll refuse._


	3. Chapter 3

My first day back to school had been awkward. There were lots of whispered and pointed stares as I walked down the hall.

After I busted out of my locker I had stumbled to the nurse's office who had promptly shrieked at the sight of me. To be fair, I had been covered in a lot blood. After that I had gotten taken to the hospital where the doctors had declared me to be in surprisingly good condition but the school had given me two weeks off anyway. It was nice getting a respite from the trio, even if I had gotten bored after a while, and it wasn't like I was going to try testing out my powers in the house. The destructive potential was just far too high. In retrospect, I should have spent some of that time at the library researching the local capes. The fight with the two telekinetic Nazi's proved I was a bit under-informed in that regard.

At least none of the bullies had tried anything, though that might have been because the teachers were all keeping an eye on me. After Principal Blackwell had promised my father that nothing like the locker would happen again it would look really bad for her if I came home the first day back and complained about bullying. Still, I was tentatively hopeful that the bullies would back off from now on.

 _Not like they can really do anything worse than stuffing me in a locker full of…_

I shuddered at the memory and made my way to my homeroom, which was also my first class. Mrs. Knott gave me a friendly smile as I walked in and took my seat. There hadn't been as many people in the hallway talking about me as yesterday, but I was still the subject of several discussions. No one ever approached me and asked what happened though. Even when the people sat next to me in class, they'd rather gossip about it in the hallways than talk to me. I was torn how I felt about that. While I didn't want to talk about it and relive what happened, if an experience like that happened to someone else I'd like to think I'd ask them how they were doing.

Since class hadn't started yet I pulled up a random search engine and started looking for outfits of King Arthur. I don't know what had caused me to blurt out Caledfwlch when the Director had asked if I picked a name out yet. I had told Assault I hadn't, why had I wanted a name to give to that lady? At least it was tangentially related to my power, and Battery had actually gotten the reference.

I knew that I didn't want to wear a full suit of armor, for several reason. First, there was no way I'd be able to afford that. Second, people would probably mistake me for a dude, which I didn't want. Third, a suit of armor seemed awfully generic, I wanted to be memorable. I wanted my costume to be a reflection of me, not a reflection of strong tough cape #367.

I found a painting of Arthur in a chainmail suit with a red... _overcoat? Overrobe? What's the term for cloth worn on top of chainmail?_ After googling for a bit, I discovered the answer was called a surcoat. _So he's wearing chainmail head to toe with a red surcoat and gold coronet. The face is exposed but beyond that, this could totally work at a cape costume. Probably too expensive though._ A quick search confirmed my fears. A bottom-of-the-barrel chain shirt was over a hundred bucks, I didn't even bother looking at the prices for a complete suit.

 _Okay, maybe after I save some people and make some money I can buy something good. That still leaves me with the problem of what I wear in the meantime though._

 _Hmm, well apparently a lot of people online associate a white surcoat with a yellow sun that has a face….and a mustache, what the hell?….with King Arthur so I could sew that symbol onto a white shirt but there is no way that wouldn't look homemade._

I grumbled to myself and contemplated smacking my head into the keyboard. There just weren't any good, affordable options for me when it came to costumes, especially not with the theme I'd given myself.

 _I wonder if I could call the PRT up and request a name change? Course if I did that they might ask why and then I'd have to tell them it's because I'm too broke to get a costume for that name. Ugh, that'd be way too embarrassing._

My musing was interrupted by the bell ringing, signaling a start to first period. Mrs. Knott gave out an assignment that was make-busy work for most of the class but I was able to finish it in fifteen minutes.

 _Excel spreadsheet creation, man that was difficult,_ I deadpanned to myself.

I spent the rest of the period doing something I should have done a week ago, research the local heroes and villains. There were a lot. Brockton Bay wasn't in the top five cities for cape population in the US but it was in the top ten.

Eventually, class ended and I shut down the computer. I wasn't looking forward to the rest of the school day. First period was my favorite class, partially because Mrs. Knott let advanced students like myself surf the internet after we completed our assignments but also because it was the only class I had that a member of the Trio wasn't also in. I had to deal with Madison in World Affairs, Emma in Math, and then Sophia and Madison in Art. Then again, yesterday hadn't been terrible.

As I was making my way towards my next class I could see Madison and several of her friends hanging out in the hallway. Seeing as how they were all in the class and sat near each other, it was a little odd that they were out here instead of in there, especially since Gladly always got to class a little late anyway.

My suspicions were confirmed when I felt someone bump into my back at the same time my foot caught on something and I sprawled forward onto the floor. The girls by the door all erupted in giggles.

"Whoops, my bad," I heard Sophia Hess say, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "Didn't see you there Hebert. Guess I got used to not having to look for you while you were gone."

I gingerly picked myself up off the floor. I hadn't landed very well so my wrists and elbows stung. _How is it I can take an I-beam to the face no problem but a trip from Sophia still hurts me?_

As I stood up I was bracing myself for the next jab, verbal or physical, that would get thrown my way. Indeed, Madison and her groupies seemed to be standing there, waiting for the same thing. But Sophia was staring at her phone with a scowl on her face.

With a mutter of, "Why'd he pick now of all times," Sophia turned on her heels and stalked off, leaving both myself and the rubberneckers of the hallway surprised.

Not about to question my good luck, I grabbed my backpack and walked into the classroom.

 _I wonder who Sophia was talking about,_ I pondered as I headed towards my desk. _I can't imagine she's got a boyfriend_. The idea of Sophia doing anything cutsie or romantic with a guy was unfathomable. _I'd sooner believe that Lung and Kaiser were carrying on in a torrid love affair than I'd believe that._

Checking to make sure there wasn't any glue or soda or anything spilled on my seat, I eyeballed Madison coming into the classroom as I sat down. She had clearly expected more out of Sophia in the hallway so whatever the message was, Madison didn't know the details involved either.

Deciding that I probably wasn't going to figure it out any further, I pulled some blank paper out of my bookbag as Mr. Glady walking into the room.

Things went normally from there. Mr. Glady talked about boring history stuff while trying to be cool and get along with the students by using 'hip' slang. It wasn't quite cringe worthy levels of uncomfortable, but it was close. Personally, I just wish he'd get to the cape section of the class. **That** was bound to be interesting, even more so now that I was a cape and could relate to it. Granted, I would have preferred to get taught about capes by a teacher that cared more about teaching than being liked but this was Winslow, I'd take what I could get.

Mr. Gladly was partway through his quote unquote lecture when the classroom's phone rang. I could tell he was annoyed with the interruption, it had cut short one of his 'jokes' after all.

He answered the phone and the class waited as we heard half the conversation.

"Yes?"

"Yes...what for?"

"Okaaaay?"

"It's just-"

"...alright."

Mr. Gladly hung up the phone and turned back to the class. "Taylor, gather your things. You need to go down to the main office. And no, I don't know why, they wouldn't tell me."

 _What the hell? Why am I getting called down to the office now?_ Both my dad and I had already had a talk with Principal Blackwell before I came back to school so I doubted it was about the locker. _Maybe the police investigation finally found something?_ I tried not to let myself get too hopeful as I packed my notes into my bookbag and stood up. I could hear Madison whispering to someone about how I must be in trouble for buying drugs from a Merchant.

As I walked out of the classroom I overheard Mr. Glady attempt to restart his joke. I could only shake my head. A joke is all about delivery and timing, if you interrupt it before the punchline you might as well forget it and move on, you've killed its momentum.

It wasn't a terribly long walk to the front office, but it wasn't a short one either. It was just long enough for my brain think about what Madison had said and worry me into a fritz about what this was all about.

 _Is it about the locker?_

 _Did someone accuse me of selling drugs?_

 _Is this some new plan by the Trio? Is that why Sophia left?_

 _Could the PRT be here to arrest me for the other night?_

 _Did Krieg die? Am I a murderer?_

 _What if there was a gang fight at the Docks and they're letting me know Dad was hurt? Or dead?_

By the time I got to the office, I was practically hyperventilating and on the verge of tears despite the fact that I knew I was being paranoid and illogical.

I walked in and saw the secretary sitting at her desk, typing away on her computer.

"I'm-" I stopped as my voice cracked. I took several deep breaths to calm myself down. "I'm Taylor Hebert. I was told to come to the front office?"

The secretary smiled. It was a warm, honest smile. _Okay, so I'm probably not in trouble then. If I was about to be arrested I doubt she'd look at me like that._

"That's right honey. Just head into the conference room over there," she said with a wave of her hand in the general direction of an unlabeled door.

I walked over to the door, my nervousness returning to haunt the back of my mind. As I grasped the doorknob I turned to look back at the secretary. She gave me an encouraging nod.

I opened the door and stepped through.

"Hello there Miss Hebert. I'm Assault, a member of the Protectorate. Here with me is one of the Wards, Shadow Stalker."


	4. Omake

**Author's Note:** _If you plug 'caledfwlch pronunciation' into Google the first two hits are Forvo and a Youtube video. Forvo has the correct pronunciation, Youtube does not. This omake was inspired by the video._

Brian was cautiously optimistic. Tattletale had informed the group that Lung was pissed they had robbed his casino last month and was planning on retaliating. They had discussed it and eventually decided (after getting confirmation from the boss) that instead of running or hiding in the loft they were going to try and fight the ABB. Catch them by surprise when the asians were getting ready for their own attack.

So far, the plan was working. They had found Oni Lee waiting outside a sushi shop with a group of thugs. The unpowered gangers had fled almost as soon as Bitch's dogs had landed on the street. Lee had put up a bit of a fight but between the four Undersiders, the suicide bomber wasn't able to do much. Brian was able to keep their location hidden while Tattletale was able to keep track of Lee when he teleported. Regent prevented Lee from using his bombs effectively and Bitch's dogs were able to easily match the assassin when he tried to get close to use his knives. Eventually, he had given up and teleported away.

Now the group was riding atop of Brutus, Judas, and Angelica enroute to where Lung was. Brian felt good that they had dealt with Oni Lee but Lung was on an entirely different level. Fighting a dragon that had taken on the entire local Protectorate team and won was something most people would generally avoid, and yet his group was going forward.

Brian tried to figure out what their plan of attack could be. Unfortunately, he wasn't coming up with anything beyond what they had used on Oni Lee. He'd keep Lung off balance in the darkness, Regent would hamper him with trips, while Bitch's dogs alternated attacks. Tattletale would let them know when it was time to run or something. She was helpful but you never knew what she was going to tell you and it was usually best to just run with it rather than ask for an explanation.

As the dogs climbed up a particularly tall building, their riders were able to make out blasts of fire several blocks away.

"Someone's already fighting Lung, we need to get in there fast before he ramps up too much!" Tattletale shouted at the dogs leapt to the next building.

"You mean we can't just let them kill each other?" Regent asked snarkily.

Since she was hugging him from behind Brian felt Tattletale shake her head. "Whoever it is, I don't think they don't have the firepower to pull that off."

Brian didn't care who it was that was fighting Lung (well unless it was a member of the E88) but whoever they were, they were probably saving Brian and his team's lives simply because they had kept Lung busy fighting here instead of at the sushi shop with Oni Lee.

As they got closer to the scene of the fight, Brian was able to make out more details. Lung had leapt clear off the street and landed on the roof of a building, where a cape in a dress and a pointed hat was standing. There was a veritable swarm of...something floating in the air between Lung and the mystery cape. The things dove and weaved in the air, blocking the fire Lung was shooting at the other cape. Whenever the fire struck the flying objects they sizzled and released a smell that was both unpleasant and oddly familiar.

In a maneuver that Brian had insisted the group practice, as soon as the dogs landed on the roof the team rolled backwards off their rides which allowed the dogs to charge forward without fear of injuring the team.

One of the dogs (Brian wasn't sure which) tackled Lung clear off the building. The other two jumped down to follow.

Tattletale was glancing around at the flying things that the other cape controlled. "No way...that...that power makes no sense!"

"Whatcha talkin bout Tats?" Regent asked as he twirled his scepter in one hand.

"Those are fish! And they aren't even flying fish, they're salmon!" Tattletale shouted indignantly. The blond turned to look at the unknown parahuman. "How are you controlling flying salmon?"

"Because I'm the mighty Cat Fish Witch, of course!" the cape said in a grandiose tone of voice.

"But those aren't catfish-" Brian began but stopped when he got a look at the new cape.

She...well there was no other way to say it, she was a furry. Her face was covered in very short, fine hair that had a calico cat coloration. Her nose was feline but her mouth was human. She had golden cat like eyes but had normal ears on the side of her head. Long, curly orange hair extended from her head. The cape, Cat Fish Witch, was dressed in a stereotypical witch's outfit that she had probably bought at a costume store. Pointed black hat, black dress/robe thing. Brian even noticed a broomstick off in the corner of the roof.

"How many tits do you have?" Regent blurted out.

"REGENT!" Brian and Tattletale shouted at the same time.

"Like you guys weren't thinking it," Regent muttered.

Brian hadn't been wondering that, though now that Regent voiced the thought...

"So, uh, Cat Fish Witch, thank you for handling Lung for us. You saved us a lot of trouble." Tattletale said as Bitch walked to the edge of the roof to look down at where Lung was fighting the three dogs.

Regent was staring at Cat Fish Witch so Brian smacked him across the back of the head. Cat Fish Witch didn't seem to notice, she had walked over to her broomstick and picked it up. She held it out horizontally at waist height and then let go. Rather than fall, the broomstick remained floating in the air at the spot she had held it.

"Oh come on! You have telekinesis too?" Tattletale moaned in frustration.

"What kind of witch would I be without a flying broomstick?" Cat Fish Witch asked as she sat on the broomstick. She then slowly drifted over to where Bitch was standing.

Regent glanced at Tattletale. "She's got a point you know, witches need broomsticks."

Tattletale seemed speechless before she gave a shake of her head and grinned. She walked over next to Cat Fish Witch. Brian and Regent followed the girl's lead and walked over to watch the fight.

"For a guy that can turn into a dragon Lung isn't fighting very well," Regent observed.

Bitch had originally been directing the dogs to attack the ABB leader in turns with a series of whistles but she had slowed down the frequency of the commands as it became clear Lung wasn't fighting at peak capacity.

"Yea, Cat Fish Witch did quite a number on him before we got here," Tattletale said. "Injected him with venom from stonefish, stargazers, lionfish...wait you can control jellyfish too? But those aren't actually fish!" Tattletale pouted. "Alright that's it, I'm going to stop trying to figure out your powers, I'm only going to give myself a headache if I keep this up."

"I'm kinda disappointed you guys show up actually," Cat Fish Witch said after several moments of watching the fight in silence.

"Disappointed?" Brian asked. "How come?"

"Had a spell I wanted to try out. Summon Bigger Fish. I think it would have let me bring in and control Leviathan."

That was when Tattletale fainted.


	5. Chapter 4

Sophia collapsed onto her bed. It had been a stressful night and not only did she not have any captured perps to show for it, she hadn't even gotten the fun of being able to fight anybody.

She and Kid Win had been on patrol. While the dork was an annoying loser he wasn't the worst to be stuck with, at least with his hoverboard he could keep a decent pace so Sophia was able to get a little exercise in. Patrolling with Clockblocker or Gallant was a just drag.

Sophia had resigned herself to another boring patrol that kept to the nice parts of town when a call had come in about Hellhound being sighted.

 _This just made my night,_ Sophia remembered thinking. Sophia didn't actually care about the dog cape, it was the bitch's teammate, Grue, that Sophia had been excited for. That dickhead's power messed with Sophia's shadow form, he was her Nemesis and she was going to take him down. Since she was in the middle of a patrol with Kid though, Sophia couldn't loop back to her house and get her lethal bolts so she'd been stuck with the stupid tranq ones.

 _Not that having real bolts would have done me any good tonight_ , Sophia grumbled to herself.

Kid Win and herself had gotten to where Hellhound supposed was and had discovered several large paw prints in the dirt. Following the tracks had lead them on an incredibly convoluted path that Sophia eventually realized was purposefully laid out for them. Once she had figured out that they were being tricked, she and Kid Win had gone for high ground (i.e. a tall building) and waited. They'd eventually spotted Hellhound and her female teammate, riding one of the beasts, making loops through the city beneath them.

Kid Win, dumbass that he was, did not understand the concept of stealth and immediately flew down at her, guns drawn and the lights of his tech blinking. Rather than attack, the villains had responded to the display of ineptitude by running. They never ran fast enough for Sophia or Kid Win to lose sight of them and have to call off the chase, but they were never slow enough for either Ward to tag them with a shot from a weapon. Every time the suits back at base decided to call of the chase, Hellhound would have her dog start smashing property, which of course the suits could let be so they would order the chase resume. Sophia hated it, she knew they were being played she just didn't know how or why.

The chase had lasted for over an hour.

Eventually, Sophia and Kid Win had lost track of the villains and, after some searching, they hadn't reappeared. An hour of running, jumping, using her powers, gliding, sprinting, and nothing had come out of it. Grue never even made an appearance!

Sophia was trying to debate whether she wanted to go right to sleep or if she should take a shower first. Either one was an appealing option.

The decision was made for her when Sophia heard her phone buzzing. It was across the room, still in a pouch on her costume which was lying on the floor by the door.

 _If I have to get up might as well go get clean._

With much effort, Sophia found her feet and got off the bed.

 _If this is just Emma asking how my patrol went tonight I'm stuffing her in a locker_ , Sophia thought to herself as she bent over to retrieve the phone. _What the heck? No messages? But I heard it...wait, did someone text my Wards phone?_

Bending over to grab her other phone, Sophia typed in the unlock code. _Who even knows this number? Miss Piggy, the Wards..._

SS. Will be investgating mastr/strangr at ur skool in few days. May require info from u then. Assault

 _A Master/Stranger situation at Winslow? Well...shit._

Masters and Strangers were no laughing matter. They could mess with you and you wouldn't even know it. Normally, Sophia would assume that if any new parahumans cropped up at Winslow she would have caught it but a Master/Stranger? They could have done something right in front of her and she might not have noticed.

It was odd that Assault was the one that appeared to be in charge of this. Investigating someone with Master/Stranger powers would require finesse which the Protectorate hero very much lacked. His attitude tended to be somewhere along the lines of, 'punch the problem until it stops moving.'

 _Maybe he did something to piss off Piggy again and he got assigned to this in retaliation. When he fails this she'll be able to really punish him._

Sophia didn't like anyone that she worked with but she did get a chuckle out of Assault's continued lack-of-respect for basically everyone that was above him. _He even gives Battery a hard time, and he's_ _ **sleeping**_ _with her._

 _Well, this'll give me something to think about now that Hebert is being watched by the teachers._

Sophia found Hebert annoying, fun to pick on, but ultimately not really worth her time. Even when compared to the other prey at the school, Hebert was weak, she never fought back. Sophia would have moved on from her long ago but Emma had such a fixation of putting the girl down and Sophia didn't feel strongly enough about it to argue that they should find someone new.

The locker was the zenith of pranks though. Sophia had kind of figured that after that prank, Emma would finally be ready to leave Hebert alone. _It's not like we can top shoving her in and leaving her there for two blocks._ But no, Taylor had shown back up to school this morning and Emma had wanted to start right up where they had left off. Sophia and even Madison had pointed out that that was a bad idea. The teachers were on the lookup for anyone treating Hebert badly. They had to lay off for a while, or at the very least limit themselves to when the faculty wasn't around.

 _If I didn't know Emma better I'd swear she's a dyke,_ Sophia thought as she headed for the bathroom. _She hates Hebert with the same intensity you only see from most people with their ex's._

* * *

Prior to school starting this morning, Madison had mentioned that her and Hebert's teacher for second block always showed up late. Emma had insisted they try something out, just to see if the wimp would do anything more than usual.

'Fight back, tell a teacher, yell, something! We stuffed her in that locker for three hours, that's got to have made her decide to do something, right?' Emma had said.

 _Well, guess I'm about to find out._

Sophia glanced up and down the hallway one last time, just to be safe. It was important to be aware of one's surroundings when out on patrol, that skill translated rather well to keeping an eye out for teachers.

Sophia stepped forward and shoved Hebert from behind while simultaneously sticking her foot out to catch Hebert's ankle. The stupid cow didn't even bother to try and catch herself, just fell forward with her arms out in front of her.

"Whoops, my bad." Sophia said, a sneer on her face. "Didn't see you there Hebert. Guess I got used to not having to look for you while you were gone."

 _She tripped and yet is taking this long to get up off the floor. If I was a ganger I could have knifed her in the back five times now. Typical, she hasn't changed a bit._

Sophia was about to make a remark about Hebert's inability to walk straight or even stand up when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.

 _That's my Wards phone, wonder what happened that they're contacting me in the middle of school._

SS. At winslow. Got some ? for you. Come 2 front office. Assault.

"Why'd he pick now of all times?" Sophia muttered to herself.

 _He told me last night that it would be in a couple days, how'd a goof-off like him get all the paperwork filed so quickly?_

As soon as Sophia thought about it as she walked down the halls, she realized she knew the answer. Master/Stranger investigations always got high priority when sign offs from the suits were required.

 _I bet they're just worried an invisible cape could be standing behind them when they're whacking off in their offices when they're supposed to be working. A locked door and a computer with Internet access? Stuffed up suits are probably pounding it every day. They don't understand the real danger of these sorts of capes._

It was bad enough that Grue's teammate could make your body not want to obey your own thoughts at important times. A full on Master or a Stranger could be terrifying if they had the mindset for it.

Sophia walked into the front office. She looked at the secretary who motioned at the door to a closed off conference room. Sophia had used the room to change into her costume when the situation called for it. Jump through the far wall and there would be a PRT van ready to take her to whatever crime was in progress. Sadly, that wasn't what she'd be doing today.

Assault was seated at the end of the large table, with an array of papers strewn out in front of him. He looked up as Sophia entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"Glad you could make it, I'll try not keep you too long. Wouldn't want Piggot getting mad at me for making you skip class."

"Whatever. So what's this Master/Stranger you wanted to ask me about."

Assault didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Sophia as if mentally debating something.

 _Shit, am I compromised? Am I a victim and I didn't even notice?_

Finally, he spoke. "I'm investigating the locker incident that happened two weeks ago."

Sophia's brain locked up. "What?"

"Taylor...I keep wanted to say Herbet but all the paperwork says it's Hebert, got shoved into her locker which had been filled full of used feminine products. She was in there for nearly three hours before she managed to get herself out."

Assault picked up one of the papers in front of him. "Her locker wasn't in some far off corridor, it was in one of the main hallways and yet no one got her out." Assault put the paper back down. "No one stopped whoever it was that put her in there. No one has come forward to say who did it. Sounds suspicious to me."

 _Shit shit shit SHIT! How do I handle this? Do I blame it on an actual Master? Claim I don't know what he's talking about? What's more believable?_

"I'll admit I'm surprised you didn't go help the poor girl out, Sophia." Assault paused. "I know you're not...very social with your teammates but you've got the best capture/arrest record of any Ward, you certainly don't like criminals. And what happened to Miss Hebert was clearly a crime."

 _Does he know I'm the one that put her in there? Is that what this is about? A set-up? If I try to claim there's a Master is he going to call me on why I didn't report anything? Better play it safe, act like I know nothing._

"I heard about happening from some other students who saw it," Sophia managed to say. "I didn't really believe it so I didn't bother looking into it. Those lockers aren't that big so the idea of someone fitting inside of one…"

Assault nodded. "Fair enough. Anywho, what can you tell me about Miss Hebert. According to her schedule she's in your fourth block class."

 _Yes, good. Get away from talking about the locker. Talk about anything else._

"Yea, I guess. Art. She's not very social so I don't know how much I'd be able to tell you. She's not in my circle of friends."

Assault frowned. "Based on what I've heard she's not in anyone's circle of friends. That's probably a large part of what made her an easy target."

 _No no no! Don't talk about bullying. Shit, now I wish I had paid more attention to Emma and Madison when they talked about how to manipulate people. Can I spin this? 'Hebert's a loser, it's her own fault?'_

Sophia shrugged. "One of my friends, Emma, has a class with Hebert. Says the girl isolates herself, doesn't like to talk to other people. I don't think she even goes to the cafeteria for lunch."

"So she's more of an introvert then?"

"Aren't introverts supposed to be smart? Hebert almost never turns in assignments on time."

Assault looked at Sophia and raised an eyebrow.

 _Did I just say something I wasn't supposed to? Quick, play dumb._

"What? Is that not what introvert means?"

Assault shook his head. "Nevermind, it's not important."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Don't think so." Assault shuffled the order of some of his papers. "I just wanted to check up with you before I talked with Miss Hebert. See if you knew anything about the situation that she might not mention to me."

 _FUCK! Of course he wants to interview Hebert! What am I gonna do when she narcs? Think, think, think._

"Should I get into costume for that?" Sophia asked when she had an idea.

Maybe I can direct the conversation if I'm there, provoke her so she seems like a nut job. I've been listening to Emma tell all sorts of stories about Hebert, I know how to push her buttons. Worst case: it all goes to shit I can blame it on the Master.

"Huh? Get in costume for what?"

"Your backup. Are you saying you want to interview someone who's been the victim of a potential Master/Stranger attack by yourself?"

Assault opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. He closed his mouth and rested his chin in his hand as he looked at Sophia.

 _He knows something. I don't know what, but he knows something is up._

"You're not wrong…" Assault finally said. "But I'm not sure I should be putting a Ward in that kind of risk."

"I'm already at risk by virtue of talking to you on school grounds," Sophia countered.

Assault ran his hand through his hair. "I'm having a hard time refuting your arguments. Alright, you can come along for the meeting. Just don't act like you normally do in costume."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sophia asked, defensively.

Assault gave her a look that implied he shouldn't have to explain what he was about to say. "I've seen you at the mandated PR events where you meet the public, remember? The other Wards all smile and wave, you growl at anyone that gets near you. That is not what Miss Hebert needs right now."

"Fine, I'll behave." _Just means I have to be more subtle about getting her riled up. I should be able to do that._ "Unless I think she's being Mastered, then I'm saying something."

Assault sighed. "Good enough, go get changed into your costume. On your way back in let the secretary know to call Miss Hebert down."

Sophia spun on her heel and walked out of the conference room, her brain frantically leaping from thought to thought. _Do I bug her about why Emma is no longer her best friend? Or should I focus on her mom dying? What about her grades? No, not her grades, she'll blame that on the us._

Sophia quickly made her way to her locker and grabbed her gear. Since she wasn't about to change in front of Assault she made her way to a nearby bathroom and, after making sure it was empty, locked the door and quickly got into her costume.

Heading back to the front office, Sophia still didn't have much of a plan beyond 'provoke Taylor into attacking her' and she still didn't know how to play the Master/Stranger angle. Not to mention whatever it was that Assault wasn't telling her.

"You got Taylor Hebert's schedule? Assault and I need to 'interview' her," Sophia told the secretary, trying her hardest to imply that Hebert was criminal they were investigating and not the victim of some crime.

The secretary nodded, "Yes, got it right here. I'm glad that you heroes are looking into what happened to the poor girl. I felt so relieved for her when Assault told me when he first showed up."

 _Damn._

"Right, we'll be waiting in there."

Sophia ended up waiting for almost five minutes. Five awkward minutes of Assault shuffling through his papers and not-so-subtly glancing at Sophia. She almost wanted to scream at him to just ask whatever question it was he was so obviously thinking but controlled herself. That would probably get her locked up under Master/Stranger protocols and then if she came up clean she'd get in trouble for shouting at a superior.

Eventually, **finally** , the door opened and Hebert stepped into the room.

"Hello there Miss Hebert. I'm Assault, a member of the Protectorate. Here with me is a member of the Wards, Shadow Stalker."

"Um, hello," Hebert said nervously as she shut the door.

Assault waved his hands placatingly, "So first thing's first, you are **not** in trouble. We aren't here to arrest you or anything. We're investigating what happened to you two weeks ago."

"Really?" The hopefulness in Hebert's tone was almost sickening.

"Really," Assault said. He had the most stereotypical I'm-a-superhero-and-I'm-here-to-help grin plastered across his face. "And because I always forget to do this at the end of these things, here's my card. Got my number and email address on it, in case you want to contact for any reason."

"Oh, um thanks." Hebert took the card with trembling hands.

 _They're actually fucking trembling, god I want to puke. I can't believe I might get in trouble over someone this pathetic._

"Now then, on to business." Assault picked up a stack of papers and tapped them against the table to straighten them in his hands. "I must inform you that this interview will be recorded by the equipment in my mask, courtesy of one Mr. Halbeard, so please keep any declarations of undying love to a minimum."

Hebert let out a small giggle and nodded.

"Alrighty, I understand you don't know who did this to you-"

"I know who did it," Hebert said, cutting Assault off in the middle of his spiel.

 _Ah, fuck._

"Really?" Assault asked in surprised. "I looked over the report the school made of the incident, it doesn't mention anything."

"Weren't you shoved into the locker face first? Would make it hard to see the person," Sophia commented, drawing a stern look from Assault and a frown Hebert.

"Just because I didn't see them doesn't mean I don't know who they were. But that is the reason why the school didn't punish anybody. The school wants proof, they always wanted proof and I could never provide it so that's why I stopped saying anything."

"They **always** …" Assault trailed off and then shook his head. "Okay, let's back up. I have clearly not been informed of the entire situation here."

"I've been dealing with bullies ever since I started school here last year. They steal and sabotage my schoolwork, shove me down the stairs, insult me, call me names, pour drinks on me. They do everything they can to make my life hell for no reason! I tried talking to the teachers, tried talking to the Principal but nothing was ever done. I was always told there wasn't any proof that they had done anything wrong!"

Hebert's speech had started out quiet but steadily got louder until she was practically shouting at Assault. Sophia just stood off to the side in silence. _Maybe I can use her anger as an excuse that she's been Mastered? Attack her before she attacks us?_

Assault frowned. "This has been going on for over a year and they haven't been caught?"

"Emma's got a rich lawyer for a father, Madison is cute and innocent looking, and Sophia is a track star. I'm just a weird loner kid. You tell me who's side the teachers would take in an argument."

 _FUCKITY FUCK FUCK, she just name dropped me!_

Assault's whole body went rigid. Sophia could see the muscles in his neck clenching as he fought to kept his focus on Hebert and resist glancing at her.

 _Damn it, he figured it out._

"What was that?" Assault asked through clenched teeth.

Hebert didn't seem to noticed he had said anything, she just continued speaking in a bitter tone. "They're all super popular, good-looking girls so of course no one wants to be on their bad side. I'm hoping that now the teachers will have to keep an eye on me since they can't claim ignorance to the bullying after the locker."

"Miss Hebert," Assault leaned forward on the table and laced his fingers together. "I promise you I will be **thoroughly** looking into this. What were the full names of the girls bullying you?"

"Well there's a number of girls but the three main ones are Emma Barnes, Madison Clements, and Sophia Hess."

Sophia may have been imagining it but she was sure she could hear Assault grinding his teeth. "Thank you, that's all I'll need for now. You are free to go back to class."

 _Shit! Don't leave it at this, say something!_

"But what about the Mas-"

"I **said** ," Assault harshly interrupted. He turned to look at Hebert and in a much nicer tone said, "that she is free to go back to class. Thank you for your time Miss Hebert, you have my card if anything comes up."

Sophia watched Hebert get up from the chair and walk out of the room. Sophia was frozen in place. _Shit, cat's out of the bag now. Playing dumb isn't going to work. Time to try for the Master/Stranger excuse._

Assault quietly organized his paperwork, though he was breathing heavily.

"Why. On Earth. Would you do what you did to her?" Assault finally asked.

"I didn't...or at least I don't think I did."

Assault looked at Sophia with emotionless eyes. "What."

"There **is** a Master/Stranger situation going on and-"

"Shadow Stalker," Assault huffed, cutting her off. "There is no Master/Stranger. There never was a Master/Stranger. I just used that as an excuse so I could investigate what happened to the girl. I ran into her the other night and decided I wanted to help someone who was in a bad situation. You know, **like heroes are supposed to do**."

Sophia swallowed.

"Go have a seat in the office, I need to call the Director about all of this. I **suggest** you sit quietly and think about how you plan on defending yourself from the Assault and Unlawful Imprisonment charges I will be recommending they press against you."

"You're not arresting me?"

Assault glared at Sophia. "As much as I want to handcuff you, I can't. If you bothered to pay attention to the rules and regulations you'd know that the Protectorate can only arrest someone if we see a crime being committed or if we know they have outstanding warrants, we aren't police officers. Also, I don't have electrified cuffs on me because I wasn't expecting to have to **detain one of the Wards**. Now get out of my sight. You have no idea how lucky you are that Miss Hebert hasn't snapped and tried to kill you yet."

Sophia trudged out of the conference room as she considered her options. _Should I grab my stuff and run? Live life on the lam?_ Sophia considered it. _No, that would mean I was running from Hebert, and there's no way I'm running from a weakling like her._

Sophia stopped in her tracks as she thought back to what Assault had said. ' _You have no idea how lucky you are that Miss Hebert hasn't snapped and tried to kill you yet.' What did he mean by that? Does he think she's the type to bring a gun to school? I could just use my powers to avoid it. Sure that would out me but that's better than dying. I know she isn't in the E88 so that wasn't what he was referring to…_

An idea suddenly occurred to Sophia. It was an absolutely ridiculous thought, but one that had to be investigated this very instant. She sprinted out of the office, past the surprised secretary, and down the halls. _No way, no fucking way is Hebert a cape. There is no way that weak, pathetic, mewling, little,_ _ **prey**_ _is a cape._

Sophia practically flew up the steps that lead to Hebert's history class. Looking down the hall, she could see Hebert making her way towards the door.

Sophia pulled out one of her crossbows and fired off a shot. She watched the bolt arc through the air and catch Hebert in the back of the the thigh. Hebert collapsed with a cry of pain.

 _Yea, she ain't so tough. Knew she wasn't a cape._ Sophia confidently strode forward as Hebert squirmed on the floor. As she got closer the enormity of what she had just did began to hit her. _I just shot Hebert right after she told Assault I had been bullying her...shit._

Hebert reached back and yanked the bolt out of her leg and then rolled into a seated position. She glanced at the ammo in her hand and then up at Sophia. Her expression wasn't of anger or fear, it was shock.

"Did you just shoot me? WHY?"

"Was a test, wanted to see what you'd do."

Hebert sputtered as she stood up. "What!? What kind of hero are you?"

"Not a very good one, apparently," Sophia replied.

"I don't even know what I'm supposed to say to that!"

 _I know she pulled the bolt out but she still should have gotten a decent dose of the tranquilizer. Why hasn't she passed out yet?_

"That's because you're weak. Just letting anyone stronger walk over you. You don't do anything to the girls that bully you. I just shot you, admitted to it, am standing within arms reach, and yet you **still** haven't done anything."

"Normal people don't solve their problems with violence!"

"Really?" Sophia snorted. "How's that working out for you? You said so yourself, the girls that shoved you in the locker are popular, everyone likes them. You're the weird social outcast. Sounds like they're more normal than you are."

"What? I - no, that wasn't what I meant…"

Sophia wasn't even sure where she was going with the conversation. She had no goal, no objective, she was just running on instinct.

"You've got no friends, no one wants to be near a weakling like you. That's why Emma abandoned you."

Hebert gaped at Sophia.

Sophia remembered a comment Emma had made once, of an especially potent insult that they could use against Hebert but should save for a special occasion. This seemed like an good enough time.

"What the matter Hebert? Does the truth upset you? Are you going to run home and cry yourself to sleep for a week?"

Hebert was still for a moment as she processed what Sophia had just said and then let out a half-sob half-gasp. She stared at Sophia with a look of such defeat on her face that Sophia wanted to crow.

And then in the blink of an eye, Hebert's expression changed. Her face became nothing but rage as she grabbed one of the straps of her backpack and brought it around off her shoulders and swung it at Sophia.

 _So that's what it took to get the cow to finally stand up for herself._ Sophia smirked as she brought her arm up to deflect the attack. _As if a textbook or two is gonna-_


	6. Chapter 5

I swung my backpack at Shado- _no, at Sophia_. At the hero-at the **person** who was somehow responsible for my best friend turning against me. At the bully who had repeatedly broken into my locker and stolen my stuff no matter how many times I changed the combination. At the psycho who had tripped, shoved, and injured me for the past year and a half. At the shrew who ruined my schoolwork so my grades had plummeted. At the criminal who never got in trouble because she was apparently a goddamn superhero. At the prick that wrecked my mother's flute. At the nutjob who had put me in the locker. At the bitch that had just used my mother's death as a taunt.

Sophia brought her arm up to block me.

 _Krieg tried that too, didn't work out so well for him,_ I thought grimly as the backpack struck her.

Sophia collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. I could hear the sound of her bones breaking as she fell to the floor in a heap. I was unprepared for how similar it sounded to breaking open a peanut shell. Once she actually landed, there were more sounds. Sophia's body squelched on impact. I could hear the dripping of blood as droplets hit the floor. Sophia tried to push herself up but fell backwards in a jumble as soon as she put any weight on her limbs. She mostly succeeded in not screaming in pain when her movements just further exasperation the shattered bones.

"What…" Sophia gasped, laying completely still. She began flickering back and forth between her shadow state and her real body. She only spoke when she was normal. "What...did...you...do?"

I didn't answer right away. First, I got my breathing under control. The adrenaline from what I had just done had me panting pretty heavily. "I finally got tired of putting up with you."

"Why...not...before?"

I thought about the answer before I responded. "Because I didn't want to be the kind of person that resorts to violence to solve their problems."

Sophia let out a ragged laugh, it sounded wet.

 _That's...not a good sound. I didn't just break her arms and legs. How much damage did I do?_

"How...can you...be...so strong...but still...so weak?

I could only shake my head as I stared at my tormentor. Someone who I had once found so intimidating now looked incredibly sad and pathetic. It wasn't just because I had hit her, it was that I had hit her and she was still trying to justify her behavior towards me. Like she expected, almost wanted, me to a bitch to her just because I was stronger.

"You're messed up Sophia. Like, really. Get professional help."

I began to turn away when I finally realized what had just happened.

 _Sophia just attacked me, in costume. I need to go tell Assault about this_ _ **now.**_

I gave Sophia's injured form a second glance, she was no longer bouncing between states. She appeared to have settled on remaining all shadowy. It occurred to me that I didn't have to rush down to the office.

 _No,_ I told myself. _I'm a good person. Good people don't leave someone to die...even if they totally deserve it. She's gonna need to go to a hospital._

I made my way back to the front office at brisk pace and contemplated what Assault's reaction would be to all this.

 _He was a nice guy when I met him the other night and it seemed like he genuinely wanted to help me in the meeting. His reaction after I mentioned Sophia makes a lot more sense now. No wonder he practically shoved me out the door right after that, didn't want me in the room with her. Though how'd she get away from him to come attack me? Something to ask him, I suppose._

I re-entered the office and looked at the secretary, who looked like she was transcribing some paperwork into the computer.

"Is he still in there?" I asked, pointing at the conference room.

The secretary smiled and nodded at me, all without missing a beat in her typing.

I hurried over and knocked. I heard a grunt that sounded like 'enter' so I opened the door.

Assault was sitting down, one hand on his forehead while the other held a ball of wadded papers against the table.

"Hang on a second, she just came back in," Assault told whoever he was talking to. He put on the kind of smile you see on waiters that are having a bad day while trying to subtly uncrumple the documents he had been using as a stress ball. "There a problem Miss Hebert?"

"Sop-Shadow Stalker attacked me out in the hallway so I hit her back," I explained.

"MOTHER FUC-it's cool, it's cool!" Assault paused halfway through the act of slamming his hands on the table and just rubbed his temples. "I'm not angry at you Miss Hebert, it's not your fault."

Assault had transitioned midword from shouting to calmly talking so smoothly I was left wondering how often he found himself in situations like this. Then again, he sure was acting like this was stressing him out so it couldn't be too common.

The hero sighed deeply and seemed to stare off into space. "Director did you catch that? I was just informed by Miss Hebert that she was attacked by Shadow Stalker." He turned to look at me. "How bad would you say she is?"

"In need of a medical attention," I answered meekly. "She was staying in her shadow form when I left."

"Dispatch an ambulance, also it sounds like you might want to ask Panacea to come in for this," Assault said to the person on the other end of the line as he stood up. "Roger that, on my way now."

"Come along Miss Hebert," Assault motioned for me to follow him as he left the room. "How much longer till the bell rings?"

"Fifty minutes," I said after glancing at a nearby clock.

"Alright, EMT's will be here before then so don't have to worry about the hallways being jam packed."

"So judging by your near slip of the tongue, you figured out who Shadow Stalker is," Assault commented after we had left the office and were along in the hallway.

"I...I, um."

"Relax, I ended the call with my boss. I'm not recording this. Like I said before, you aren't in trouble. She attacked you after I **told** her to wait in the office."

"She said some things to me, after she shot me, that tipped me off to who she **might** be," I said, not actually admitting I knew who she was.

"Well I'd like to apologize for the fact that I didn't consider that she'd come after you. I was hoping she'd see the writing on the wall and just take her lumps but…" Assault trailed off. "Ugh, considering how stupid I was when I was younger you'd think I would have realized how idiotic teenagers can be when they focus on something."

"Um, so…" I said hesitantly. "Like I said, I hit her pretty hard. How come you aren't rushing to go check on Shadow Stalker. I don't want her to die...probably…"

Assault waved his hand dismissively. "You said she was in her shadow state, right?" When I nodded he continued. "When she goes whispy it basically puts her health on pause. She won't get worse, she won't get better. So long as she maintains her concentration, she'll be fine."

"I did not know that," I admitted.

Assault looked at me out of the corner of his eye and grinned. "Lots of capes have aspects of their power that they don't advertise. Means the villains can't anticipate and counter you in a fight. Why, just the other night I met someone that had recently gotten her powers, I said nearly the same thing to her. I'm hoping she takes it to heart, seemed like a good kid."

I tilted my head down so my hair fell forward to cover my blushing cheeks. While he still hadn't come out and said as much, it was patently obvious that Assault knew who I was but was willing to play ignorant until I outed myself to him.

We climbed the stairs in silence, which I appreciated. I wasn't used to receiving compliments anymore. I didn't know how to respond.

"There's the Genoese wannabe," Assault said as we approached Sophia's shadowy form.

"Huh?"

"I did a wiki walk the other night, started with King Arthur myths and somehow ended up reading about crossbowmen in Italy."

If I remembered more of my European history that Assault's answer probably would have been a proper explanation. I settled for nodding my head.

"Aaaaaa~nyway," Assault said as he looked down at Sophia. "I know you can hear me Shadow Stalker. You attacked this girl unprovoked when I told you to sit and wait while I talked with Director Piggot. If you weren't in trouble before, you are now. An ambulance is on its way here, just stay like that until they arrive. I don't know how badly you're hurt but Miss Hebert is stronger than she looks soooo probably a lot."

It was weird seeing Assault so flippant with someone that had maybe been potentially dying minutes ago after I hit her.

Sophia phased to back to normal so she could say something, "She…"

" **No** ," Assault said firmly, causing Sophia to go back to her shadow form. "She defended herself. Anything you have to say beyond that can wait until after you're taken to the hospital and the doctors tell us you aren't in danger of **dying**. As of right now you're in a serious enough condition that you need to shut up and focus on maintaining your powers. If you want to argue and tell your side of the story, fine. But you will do so **later**."

Sophia nodded her wispy head.

Assault clapped his hands. "Right, now then. Miss Hebert, while we wait, wanna hear a story about how Armsmaster got his butt reamed by the Director for trying to streamline the interview process?"

My brows furrowed in confusion. "No offense...that sounds rather dry?"

Assault grinned. "Oh hoho, no. It's not, believe me. See, it started when this lady walked into the PRT building and said she was a concerned citizen and wanted to hand over an eldritch tinkertech antelope that she found writing sappy love notes to Miss Militia."

* * *

When the EMT's arrived they had taken out some handheld scanner thingy and declared that Shadow Stalker was in too bad a condition to safely move.

 _If she stays in shadow form would she just phase through the gurney? Then why isn't she going through the floor?_

I kept my thoughts to myself rather than voice them. Based on Assault's various comments, I figured it was a faux pas to ask someone about how her powers worked.

The EMT's were going to wait around and keep an eye on Shadow Stalker but then they got called away for an old lady having a heart attack. So it was back to just Assault and myself standing there. He had had to shoo away several students that wandered over at various points, presumably when they were on their way to the bathroom.

"Should I go back to class? It doesn't really seem like I can do much here," I said at one point.

"I don't know when Panacea will arrive here so I don't want to send you away only to call you back in five minutes once she heals Shadow Stalker. Plus, after everything that's happened I don't feel comfortable letting you go about unescorted until we get to the bottom of all this."

"Why would you need to call me back once Shadow Stalker is better?"

"Oh, sorry. Did I not mention that earlier?" Assault grinned sheepishly. "Gotta take you down to the PRT building and get professionally interviewed, you were attacked by a parahuman, after all. What's more, you were attacked by a **Ward** so that means the Director is going to personally apologize to you and do everything she can to butter you up so you don't sue."

"I wouldn't sue!"

Assault winked at me. "That's good to hear, but don't say that to the Director right away. Make her grovel a bit, she could use a bit of humility."

It was at that point that I saw someone in white robes walked up the stairs, flanked by a pair of PRT troopers. Assault followed my eyes and turned around and waved when he noticed the trio.

As the group got closer I couldn't help but notice something about the famous healer. _That's Panacea? But she looks so...normal._ The robes were finely made and they certainly leant her an air of officialness but that didn't change the fact that her face was very plain. She wasn't ugly, just average. _Not that I have any room to be criticizing someone's looks._

"So what happened?" Panacea asked without preamble.

"Shadow Stalker learned the importance of following orders when a Master/Stranger investigation is ongoing," Assault answered. He looked serious but I could hear the smile in his voice.

Panacea took Assault at his word, however. "Ongoing? You pulled me out of class when you don't even have the culprit? Is it safe for me to be here? How badly is Shadow Stalker's hurt?"

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe here. Only reason Shadow Stalker is still alive is thanks to Miss Hebert here," Assault slapped me on the back. "She came and informed me of my errant Ward's injuries."

 _I suppose what he said is technically correct._

"If you so say," Panacea said as she knelt down next to Sophia. "Alright Shadow Stalker, I need skin contact so I'll reach underneath you mask but I won't remove it. Do I have permission to heal you?"

Sophia phased back to normal and managed to rasp out a yes so Panacea reach forward.

"Oh my god! Her bones have been pulverized! A number of her organs are mush!" Panacea looked down at Shadow Stalker with a horrified expression on her face but that quickly changed to a more chagrined look as she realized what she had blurted out. "Er...sorry, that was unprofessional of me."

I don't know how much time passed as we all just stood there and watched as Panacea worked her magic. It was kinda boring. Panacea's power wasn't big and showy, there wasn't a flash of light that caused Sophia to be suddenly healed. It was just a slow, gradual change. Sophia breathing shifted to become more normal, her limbs straightened out, she raised herself into a sitting position, all the while Panacea had her hand on Sophia's neck.

Eventually, Panacea stood up. "You're mostly better now. Still have a concussion and swelling of the brain, which I can't help with. You're very lucky your power was able to put your injuries on hold, anyone else would have died before I got here."

Panacea's words were like a punch in the gut. I had nearly killed Sophia. Yes, she was a bully. Yes, she was very likely the one that had shoved me in the locker. Yes, she said some very bad things to me. But the realization that I had lost my temper and very nearly killed her was like getting hit with a bucket of cold water. Imagining someone you hate dying is cathartic, actually almost killing them is an entirely different feeling.

"Thank you for you help Panacea," Assault said and then turned to the PRT troopers with a big grin on his face. "Cuff her, boys."

I looked at Assault suspiciously. "Are you going to say-"

"Take her away."

"Yea, that."

Assault chuckled as Sophia was walked down the hall. "Gotta learn to enjoy the little things otherwise you'll go nuts."

Panacea looked back and forth between Sophia's disappearing form and Assault. "So wait, is the Master/Stranger situation resolved or not?"

"It's resolved," Assault answered. "Shadow Stalker is being taken away because during the investigation it came to light that she may have violated some the Ward's regulations. Nothing for you to worry about."

Panacea didn't appear to believe him but she didn't call him on it either. "Alright, just don't go calling me into potentially dangerous situations in the future, I'm a healer not a fighter."

"You missed a great opportunity to call me Jim," Assault said with a shake of his head.

Panacea just looked puzzled. "Huh? Is your name Jim?"

"No, it's not." Assault sighed wistfully. "Forget about it."

"Alright...well in that case I'll head back to Arcadia now."

"Thanks again for coming," Assault said with a hearty wave goodbye which Panacea half-heartily returned as she began walking down the stairs.

"So, what say we head down to the office and let whoever's in charge know that I need to take you down to the PRT headquarters? Wouldn't want you to get slapped with a truancy charge just because of me."

 **Author's Note:** _And so we reach the outcome of Sophia attacking Taylor, hope it didn't disappoint. I decided to change how Shadow Stalker's powers worked slightly since it's not totally clear in the 9.4 chapter. Ballistic shoots her and puts a hole in her chest so she goes wispy after she's been hit and the hole closes but she's still badly hurt. It's clear her power doesn't work like logia devils fruit like in One Piece but I'm unsure of what the actual limitations are. I have no idea how it would work against a Gavel-style hit, hence the change._


	7. Chapter 6

_Another day in paradise,_ Danny thought morosely.

The mayor's office had just cancelled tomorrow's meeting where Danny would, again, have tried to convince the man that the Ferry was worth reopening. Sometimes Danny wondered why he even bothered.

 _Maybe he'll lose the next election, I might have better luck with his replacement._

Danny had planned on using most of today to work on the presentation but since that was a bust he supposed he should try and find some work for some of the boys.

 _The Protectorate got into a fight with some Empire capes at a construction site a couple days ago, maybe I can get the contract for the clean-up. Should provide work for a couple guys._

As Danny was about to stand up and walk over to his filing cabinet his phone rang.

Reaching across the desk, "Dockworkers Union, Danny Hebert speaking."

"Hey Dad, it's me."

"Taylor? Are you alright? What's wrong?"

There were many reasons why his daughter would be calling him in the middle of the day when she was supposed to be at school, none of them good.

"I'm fine but-um...you need to come to the PRT building."

Danny stared at the phone for a second, as if looking to confirm that it was still working. Of all the things he had been expecting to hear, that wasn't one of them. "The PRT building? Taylor, what's going on?"

"I shouldn't talk about it over the phone. Just come to the PRT building and tell the lady at the front desk…" Taylor's voice trailed off and Danny come make out the sound of her talking to someone else before she came back and said in a sardonic tone, "Tell her that you're the victim of crime and that you're there to reclaim your stolen Dragon-themed beer coaster."

"...my dragon-themed beer coaster?"

"It'll let them know you're here for me and not just some random person off the street. Not like anyone else would come forward and say that."

"You've got me there," Danny admitted. "Alright Taylor, I'm on my way."

* * *

After saying the rather unique phrase to the secretary, Danny was escorted through the building by a very polite man in a PRT uniform until he was shown into conference room.

Seated at the table was his daughter who was happily chatting with one of the heroes of the Protectorate.

 _Crap, which one is he? Clearly isn't Miss Militia or Battery and Armsmaster wears blue so that leaves Dauntless, Assault, and...Speedy? You'd think I'd be able to name the local Protectorate team._

"Ah, Mr. Hebert. I'm Assault, pleasure to meet you," the hero said, rising from his seat with a hand extended.

 _Well now I don't have to embarrass myself asking which one he is._ "Please, call me Danny."

"Certainly Danny. I was just chatting with your daughter here. She's a smart cookie."

"Yes, she is," Danny said with a smile. He noticed that Taylor had blushed when Assault complimented her. "Now I don't suppose you could tell me what all this is about? Taylor wasn't very forthcoming on the phone."

"Sorry about that, there was the possibility that someone could be listening in on the conversation so we like to keep these sorts of things face-to-face."

"That makes sense...but you still haven't told me what this is about."

"Dad," Taylor said, finally speaking up. "Assault was investigating what happened to me at school...with the lo-" Her voice caught in her throat.

"It's okay Taylor." Danny patted her shoulder. He thought she was handling the experience far better than he would have in her shoes. If the only problem she had was a little trouble talking Danny would count that as a win. Danny turned to look at Assault. "How it'd go?"

"Taylor named the people she thought were responsible. Upon being called out, one of the girls physically attacked your daughter-"

"What? Taylor, you said on the phone you were fine!"

"I **am** fine," Taylor said defensively.

"Relax Danny. Taylor took out the girl in one hit. Which brings us to the crux of the issue."

"What do you mean?"

"Dad, look at me." Taylor flexed one of her arms. "Do you think I could take anyone out in one hit?"

"I'm confused, did you or did you not knock the bitch's lights out?" Under normal circumstances Danny wouldn't encourage Taylor to get in fights. But after what she had gone though, if one of the girls responsible attacked her, Danny couldn't find it in himself to chastise her.

His daughter rolled her eyes. "Dad." Taylor huffed. "I'm a parahuman."

"Uh-bu-whaaaa?"

Assault chuckled. "That's a standard reaction."

"I'm a parahuman," Taylor repeated. "So when I hit Sophia...she stayed down."

"So...where do we go from here?"

Assault shifted in his seat. "At the moment, we're waiting for the Director and Deputy Director to arrive so we can discuss the possibility of Wards membership as well as how the criminal case against the young ladies will be handled. But before that there is something you should know, now I'm not supposed to tell you this but it's better you find out now rather than during the meeting with Piggot because if you blow up at her it won't go well."

"Okay…"

Assault cleared his throat. "What I'm about to say can not be repeated, you and Taylor will have sign an NDA before you leave, regardless of the outcome of the meeting."

"Sounds serious," Danny said even as he nodded.

"Alright, one of the girls that has been bullying Taylor, the one that attacked her and quickly learned how much of a mistake that was and is currently in a holding cell downstairs, is one of our Wards, Shadow Stalker."

"WHAT?!" Danny shouted and leapt to his feet.

"Dad!" Taylor's voice cut through Danny's anger. He took a deep, calming breath. Then several more.

Danny sat down as smoothly as he could manage.

"Now it's important you understand: yes, Taylor is the victim of a multitude of crimes and yes, you should hold out for terms that are good for the two of you because you got us over a barrel, but you need to understand that the government takes the secret identities of its heroes, particularly the Wards, **very** seriously. So whatever you do, don't go threatening to expose her because that'll just get you arrested."

"Which is why you're telling me this now, because if I found out during the meeting I might have lost my temper and said something I shouldn't?"

"That's the long and short of it, yea. So, any last questions before my bosses arrive?"

Danny could only look back and forth between the costumed hero and his daughter. "This is all such a shock to me...I don't even know what I should be asking."

"Don't worry about it. Take the papers, read true the stuff, and then head home and let it percolate in yalls noggins. Don't need ta sign anyting right away."

"That accent was terrible," Taylor said, grinning.

While Danny agreed the accent was atrocious, he couldn't deny that it had made his daughter smile. It was a genuine smile, not forced at all. It was a depressing thought as he realized how long it had been since he'd seen such a thing.

Danny heard the door open behind him and saw Assault rise to his feet. "Hello Directors, was just keeping the Heberts company while they waited for you two. I'll get out of your hair."

"Yes, I imagine you have a lot of paperwork to fill out regarding your trip to the school."

Danny stood up to greet the speaker and discovered it was a heavyset woman with an unflattering haircut. Behind her stood a man that was almost remarkable in how ordinary he looked.

"I'm Director Emily Piggot head of the PRT East-North-East. This is Deputy Director Paul Renick, he oversees the local Wards team," the woman said as Assault exited the conference room.

After Danny and Taylor shook their hands and introduced themselves the four of them sat down.

"So, Miss Hebert, I understand you're considering joining the Wards?" Piggot asked.

 _Negotiating over paperwork. This is something I_ _ **know**_ _I can help Taylor with._

* * *

"That went well," Danny said as he and Taylor walked into the house.

"You're just saying that because you're not the one carrying all the paperwork," Taylor joked.

"I'm old and hurt my back getting out of bed this morning. You're strong enough break a girl's bones just by hitting her with your backpack. I think you can lift some paper without my help."

Luckily, Taylor wasn't looking at Danny when he joked back with her. If she had she would have seen the pained expression on his face.

His little girl had powers. It didn't matter how much he was assured that the Wards were the safest option for her. It didn't matter that her power apparently made her incredible hard to hurt. All Danny could see was his little girl getting thrown into the dangerous world of capes and there was nothing he could do. It had been hard enough getting concessions from the school after Taylor had spent a night in the hospital. Getting involved with capes was beyond the bounds of Danny's knowledge. Every parent wants to see their child grow up and become successful and happy and safe. Sure, you're proud if your kid has a high risk job, but you never stop being afraid for them. And Taylor wasn't grown up yet, she was still in high school.

 _I thought I'd have to deal with boyfriends before worrying about her getting a real job._

Technically, it wasn't her job yet. Nothing had been signed (except the NDA about Shadow Stalker, that was non-negotiable). Even if Assault hadn't advised them to wait Danny still wouldn't have signed anything. As much experience as he had dealing with contracts, Danny still wanted a lawyer to look things over first.

 _Would have asked Alan to do it but not after everything that's happened._

Finding out that Emma had been one of the bullies had been a shock to Danny. He knew he hadn't seen her in ages and he couldn't remember the last time Taylor went over to the Barnes' house but he never would have thought things had gotten as bad as they did.

It had been an even bigger shock to find out that one of Taylor's bullies had been a Ward. Danny had almost said some things that probably would have gotten himself arrested. Luckily, between his promise to never lose his temper in front of his daughter and the fact that Taylor had apparently come close to killing the girl from a single blow, Danny was able to keep his composure. One of the numerous papers they had brought home were NDA's regarding Sophia Hess's identity as a Ward. Danny wished he could have gotten away with not signing it right away. After Assault's speech he wasn't about to try an expose her, no matter how much he wanted to after what she did to Taylor, but that didn't mean he didn't want to make the PRT sweat a bit as the worried about what he might do. Would serve them right for being so abysmal at doing their job.

"They don't actually expect us to read _all_ of these, do they?" Taylor asked as she dropped the massive stack of papers on the kitchen table. "Maybe it's a ploy to get us to agree to everything, just bury us in paperwork?"

"That's actually legitimate strategy in some cases," Danny said with a chuckle. "But no, in this case I think it's because you're a minor and the Wards sometimes go into dangerous situations so they have to make sure they cover their butts from any liability."

"As well as define how much skin I'm allowed to expose when I'm out in costume apparently," Taylor said as she looked at the page on top of the pile.

"I'm hoping it's somewhere in the realm of slim-to-none."

"Daaaaad," Taylor said in a tone of exasperation.

"Seriously, honey," Danny said as he walked past her to the fridge. "You don't need to be wearing some skimpy spandex costume. I am totally fine with you dressing like an eskimo."

She punched him in the shoulder.

"My plan was actually to get a costume similar to a knight, you know, like King Arthur."

"A knight, huh? Gonna wear a big suit of armor?" _Armor is good, much more protection than cloth._ "Isn't there already one Ward that looks like that? You and he could be partners."

"Gallant, yea. But I'm hoping not too big a suit, I don't want to be mistaken for a dude."

"As I recall from glancing over the paperwork, there's a PR department that has to OK your costume and name before you're allowed to go out so I imagine they'll be able to help in making sure you look sufficiently feminine."

As Danny began making dinner Taylor continued reading over the paperwork they had been given. She asked him questions about legalese wording and he answered to the best of his ability. He told stupid 'Dad jokes' when she started getting frustrated. The two laughed as they ate. There was something different about the atmosphere of the room tonight. After thinking about it for a moment, Danny realized what it was. This wasn't two people that happened to be eating at a table at the same time, it was two family members bonding over a shared meal, something he and Taylor hadn't done…

 _Since before Annette died,_ Danny realized. _I know I was a wreck after her death but I thought I was doing better after Alan's pep talk but I wasn't, I just wasn't as bad as I had been. This? This is better._

 **Author's Note:** _And so we reach the end of my plotted story. I'm open to the possibility of revisiting this someday and expanding it, this would actually work fine as the first arc, but for now I consider this finished._


End file.
